Did you know that the extra bit of seasoning you add to your food could well be increasing your blood pressure levels? Indeed, a high salt or sodium diet is one of the main reasons we, today, face an epidemic of cardiac and blood pressure problems.

A high salt diet can affect us in a number of ways, and it is important for us to know what they are. Would you like to know more? Keep reading.

What Is A High Sodium Diet?

You may not have paid much attention to this taste-enhancing component of your food, but all around the world, the intake of salt is well above the physiological need (10 – 20 millimoles per day). In some places, the consumption of salt by an adult is almost 5 to 10 times higher. In fact, here are some of the surprising high sodium foods that you may be regularly consuming:

• Sauces and marinades
• Cheese
• Salty cereal
• Bread
• Packaged baked goods
• Soup
• Pancakes
• Chicken breast
• Frozen vegetables in sauce
• All processed food

Apart from these, you have to account for the amount of salt you put in during cooking. Some people tend to be quite heavy-handed with salt, and if you are generous with your salad dressing, that is another source of additional salt in your diet.

Following are the affects of a high salt diet:

1. High Blood Pressure:

There is plenty of evidence that shows a direct relationship between high salt intake and high blood pressure. The normal blood pressure is 120/80 mm of Hg. Higher readings of blood pressure are detrimental to your cardiovascular health (1). Although we still do not know the precise mechanism through which high sodium leads to high blood pressure, the general idea is that high level of sodium in the blood sets up a concentration gradient. This leads to osmosis and volume expansion of the plasma of blood, which in turn exerts higher pressure on the walls of the blood vessels. If you already have hypertension, a diet high in salt could put you at risk.

2. Stroke:

A stroke causes a part of the blood supply to the brain to be cut off, which leads to the damage and death of cells in the adjoining area. Strokes are either caused by the blockage or bursting of a blood vessel. The latter could be induced by high blood pressure. So, high sodium is a secondary cause of stroke in many people (2).

Although it is not uncommon in the elderly, stroke is not a natural part of aging. In fact, it can be avoided through a rigorous diet that keeps your blood pressure in check. And it all starts with reducing the daily salt intake.

3. Coronary Heart Disease:

Coronary heart disease refers to the condition of blockage of blood supply to the heart, which ultimately leads to heart attack or heart failure. Increased blood pressure due to a high sodium diet often contributes to coronary heart disease (3). The sodium present in the blood gets trapped in the walls of the arteries due to cholesterol deposition. Together, they form a thick sludge like plaque that constricts the blood vessel. Over time, this constriction ultimately causes blockage and coronary heart disease. Chunks of plaque also break off and float in the blood stream, causing a pileup of blood cells and clots. All of these can cause heart attacks.

4. Obesity:

There is no direct link between increased sodium intake and obesity. However, high salt intake tends to dehydrate you. This leads to excessive drinking. Now, if your choice of drinks on a hot summer day is the sugary, fattening soft drinks, weight gain will not be far behind. And in turn, obesity increases your chances of coronary heart disease, diabetes, and apnea.

5. Osteoporosis:

Bones in our body are chiefly made from calcium. A high salt diet can cause leaching of this calcium in bones through urine (4). As a result, your bones become brittle – a condition that is characteristic of osteoporosis. High blood pressure also speeds up the leaching of calcium. So, osteoporosis is inevitable if you follow a high sodium diet regularly. Middle-aged women are most susceptible to osteoporosis, and hence, they need to reduce their salt intake as much as possible.

6. Kidney Stones:

As said before, calcium is leached out through the urine due to high sodium in the blood. Sometimes the kidneys may not be able to efficiently remove all of this calcium, which in turn leads to kidney stones (5). Kidney stones are utterly painful and can cause severe problems. A high sodium diet strains the kidneys as well. So, kidney diseases are not uncommon for those who have high blood pressure.

7. Water Retention:

Water retention or edema is a common problem of high sodium intake. In fact, increased salt consumption can lead to the retention of as much as 1.5 liters of water. Menopausal women who tend to get bloated ankles and joints can reduce their sodium intake to counter this problem. In fact, patients with heart failure, liver cirrhosis, and nephritic syndrome have all suffered from water retention at one point of their life or another.

A Low Sodium Diet:

A low sodium diet can benefit you even if you have not yet felt any of the aforementioned side effects of a high sodium diet. Here are some tips to follow to cut down your salt intake:

• Replace packaged and processed foods with fresh foods. From meat to vegetables, buy the fresh kind instead of the frozen ones.
• Canned fruits should be substituted with fresh fruits.
• Read food labels and buy the variety with less sodium.
• Buy seasonings without salt. Check labels to make sure no sodium is listed in it.
• Eat cheese in measured amounts.
• Start reducing the salt you put in while cooking. It will take merely a week or two to get used to a no-salt-added diet.

These are some of the beginners’ tricks to switch to a low sodium diet. They are small steps, but easily executed. So let’s start today!

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by Maanasi Radhakrishnan via STYLECRAZE